The Big Goodbye
by orchids117
Summary: Sometimes Goodbye is all you can say. (Set between ch38 and 39 of "Silence Will Fall No More")
**This is for everyone who wanted to see Clara's goodbye to the women of the Tyler family.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to the BBC.**

* * *

 **The Big Goodbye.**

 _POV: Clara Oswald_

 _Date: July 5, 2015_

Needless to say, I was only the tiniest bit surprised to open my front door and come face-to-face with a room full of Tylers.

"Well it's about time," I said as I shut the door. "8 months and none of you even thought to give me a phone call? Honestly, I would expect that of you, Doctor. But Rose? Jen? Mara? I thought you lot would at least insist on checking up on me." I set down my bag and crossed my arms. "So where have you been all this time?"

They all stared at me with sadness in their eyes.

I cocked my head to the side. "What's wrong?"

They all glanced at each other before Mara stepped forward. "Clara," she said, and her voice broke over my name. "Clara, something's happened."

I blinked, and slowly uncrossed my arms. "What is it?"

Mara glanced back at her family. "Well…" She stopped mid-sentence to pull me into a hug.

"Mmf." I wrapped my arms around her to keep us both from falling over. "Okay, the hug is nice but you're starting to scare me."

"Mum had a vision," she mumbled into my shoulder.

I stepped away then to get a better look at them. "What?" I glanced over at Rose. "Is something wrong with the timeline?"

She pulled in a slow breath. "Not yet. But there will be."

"Well what is it?" I demanded. "Let's go; let's fix it! What do we need to do?"

"Not _we_ , Clara," the Doctor rasped. "Just them."

I blinked, and confusion took hold of me when I caught sight of his expression. His shoulders were hunched forward and the lines in his face were more prominent than usual. And his eyes—the look in them left a lump in my throat.

"What do you mean?"

"Mum saw Gallifrey, Clara," Jenny whispered.

"But—" I turned back to Rose. "Isn't that good?" I looked towards the Doctor. "That means the plan worked. _You_ _saved Gallifrey_."

He swallowed, and looked towards Jenny and Mara. "Well, it turns out the cost of saving my planet is a wee bit higher than I thought."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch together. "Rose, what did you see?"

"We die," Mara said quietly. "Jenny and I. On Gallifrey. The Lord President shoots us down." She looked towards her parents. "And Mum and Dad destroy the universe because of it."

My eyes widened, and I took a step back. "But…now that you know that will happen, you can avoid it yeah? Just change the future!"

Jenny shook her head. "No, Clara, we can't. Not this time."

"They know that Mum is alive," Mara rasped.

"And they'll use us to get to her and Dad," Jenny finished.

"So you run," I said, and felt my hands curl at my sides. "You run—it's what you lot do best. You run and hide and don't stop until they stop looking."

"They'll never stop," the Doctor said bitterly. "There's nowhere we can hide that they won't find us. Nowhere we can run where they won't be waiting. Except…" His voice choked off at the end.

Rose stepped to his side. "Clara, do you remember the stories we've told you about Pete's World?"

My heart jumped to my throat. "You're not thinking of going there are you? You'll be sealed off forever!"

She nodded, and I saw the years come forward in her face. "We know. But it's the only way."

I looked to the Doctor. "So, what? You all just came to say goodbye? You're all going to leave me here after—" I stopped myself. I couldn't say his name.

"No, Clara," he said quietly. "I'll still be here."

"Only Mum, Mara, and I will be left in Pete's World," Jenny said.

I stared at all of them with disbelief. "So after everything you've all been through—after crossing dimensions and fighting paradoxes and Weeping Angels and everything in between to be together, you're just going to…give up?"

"This is different."

I let out a hard laugh. "How is this any different? You're up against impossible odds, sure, but you always have been! So what's changed?" I crossed my arms again and looked at each one of their faces. "What's so different about this time?"

They all shared a glance, and I could almost see the telepathic communication going on between them. I hated it when they did that.

After another moment of silence, Mara let out a soft sigh.

"Mum could be free, Clara," she said quietly. "If we go to the other universe. She could be free, and the Time Lords would never find her.

"Why can't she be free in this universe?" I asked, and I could hear the tears in my voice but I blinked them away. I refused to cry now.

"Oh, Clara," Rose whispered, and reached out to take my hand with one of hers. She gave it a light squeeze. "There are other parts of the timeline I can't be here for." She reached up with her hand to cup my cheek. I jumped with surprise when she swiped away a tear. "There are things that can't be changed no matter how much I want to stay. And I want to stay, Clara, I do." She glanced back at the Doctor. "Whatever you may think of me right now, it doesn't change the fact that I do love the Doctor, and I would do anything to stay with him."

"Then how can you leave?" I croaked.

She smiled at me softly. "Because this is the only way I can protect him. If I stay…" She pulled in a shaky breath. "Close your eyes."

I bit my lip, but did as I was told.

Behind my eyelids I watched as images began to play out in my mind. Images of a timeline with all four of them together.

And that's when I saw it. The burning; the destruction. There was no option that didn't lead to the Time Lords finding them and either killing Jenny and Mara, or using Rose as the weapon that she was.

I swallowed, and slowly opened my eyes once the images had stopped.

"Curse of the Quo," she murmured, and I felt her heartbreak drift through her fingertips into my mind. "Too much foresight."

I swallowed, and sniffed. "But what will we do without you?" I croaked.

She glanced down for a moment. "Clara, you need to promise me something."

I reached up to wipe at my eyes as she lowered her hand. "Anything."

She looked back at the Doctor again before turning to me. "Don't let him forget who he is," she said, and her voice was strained. "Be his hand to hold, his voice of reason, and above all else…be his best friend." She half smiled. "And don't let him fool you. I know he acts high and mighty, but he needs you. He cares for you more than you know, and I need you to promise me that you won't let him forget that life is worth living."

I swallowed hard, but nodded. "I promise."

She closed her eyes for a moment, and then leaned in to kiss my cheek. "I'll never forget you, Clara Oswald."

I half smiled, and let out a small chuckle through the tears that were still flowing. "You better not."

She stepped back. "Goodbye," she said quietly, and then vanished.

I sniffed, and looked over at Mara and Jenny then. "Well…" I let out a short laugh. "It's been fun."

Mara reached out to wrap me up in another hug. "They don't make them like you anymore, Clara."

I laughed, and pulled her closer. "Oh, I'm one of a kind."

She kissed my cheek before we parted. "Keep him safe," she said quietly.

I nodded, and then turned to Jenny as she headed for where I assumed the TARDIS was parked—my bedroom.

"Never stop running," Jenny said as she pulled me in close.

"Now there's a promise I can keep," I said through a shaky laugh. "Take care of yourself, Jen."

She grinned at me as we pulled apart. "I always do."

I waited until she was out of sight to look up at the Doctor.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Well, I'll see you again soon."

"I suppose you will," I said flatly.

He shifted on his feet for a moment before he clapped his hands together. "Right, well, we have a short window of time to pull off this plan successfully. I best be going."

"Doctor."

He paused at the door to my bedroom and glanced back at me. "Yes?"

I raised my chin to give him a hard stare. "Make sure they get there safely."

"Of course," he said.

I swallowed. "And come find me. When they're gone. Don't be alone. You're terrible at it."

"Yes, well…" He stared down at his feet for a moment. "I'll see you later," he said finally, and left the room.

I heard it when the TARDIS engines started up, and closed my eyes.

"Goodbye," I whispered.

 _Fin._


End file.
